Riders earn $1.1 million profit

The Saskatchewan Roughriders made $1.1 million during the 2012-13 fiscal year, the CFL team announced Saturday at its Annual General Meeting.

The club's chief financial officer, Craig Reynolds, said the team earned $34.4 million in gross revenues.

A jump in gate revenues and the league's highest merchandise sales helped the Saskatchewan Roughriders earn a $1.1 million profit in 2012-13. (Ryan Remiorz/CP)

That includes $13.1 million in ticket sales, an 11 per cent increase from last season, and $7 million in merchandise — more than any other team in the CFL.

The team's profit was down from the last two years. In 2012 it reported a profit of $4.5 million, and in 2011, $6.5 million.

The team said in its annual report that this was mostly due to amortization costs of $2.5 million for the Grey Cup Legacy Project. For accounting purposes, the $15.3 million in upgrades to Mosaic Stadium is being spread over the team's remaining years in the stadium. A new stadium is expected to be completed in 2017.

The club will put $500,000 from its profit into its Stabilization Fund, which has net assets of $11.6 million, according to the annual report. The account is intended to help the team during years when revenues are weak.